Northvegr
Search the Northvegr™ Site



Powered by   Google.com
 
... In Iron Age Britain two brothers struggle for supremacy. The Archdruid prophesies kingship for one, banishment for the other. But it is the exiled brother who will lead the Celts across the Alps into deadly collision with Rome...
  Home | Site Index | Heithinn Idea Contest |
Völsunga Saga


Page 24


Then went the bondmaid home, and told Sigrun, and sang --

     BONDMAID:
     Go out, Sigrun
     From Sevafell,
     If thou listest to look on
     The lord of thy people!
     For the mound is uncovered
     Thither is Helgi come,
     And his wounds are bleeding,
     But the king thee biddeth
     To come and stay
     That stream of sorrow.
So Sigrun went into the mound to Helgi, and sang --
     SIGRUN:
     Now am I as fain
     Of this fair meeting,
     As are the hungry
     Hawks of Odin,
     When they wot of the slaying
     Of the yet warm quarry,
     Or bright with dew
     See the day a-dawning.

Ah, I will kiss My king laid lifeless, Ere thou castest by Thy blood-stained byrny. O Helgi, thy hair Is thick with death's rime, With the dew of the dead Is my love all dripping; Dead-cold are the hands Of the son of Hogni; How for thee, O my king, May I win healing?

HELGI: Thou alone, Sigrun Of Sevafell, Hast so done that Helgi With grief's dew drippeth; O clad in gold Cruel tears thou weepest, Bright May of the Southlands, Or ever thou sleepest; Each tear in blood falleth On the breast of thy lord, Cold wet and bitter-sharp Swollen with sorrow.

Ah, we shall drink Dear draughts and lovely, Though, we have lost Both life and lands; Neither shall any Sing song of sorrow, Though in my breast Be wounds wide to behold: For now are brides In the mound abiding; Kings' daughters sit By us departed.

Bow Sigrun arrayed a bed in the mound, and sang --
     SIGRUN:
     Here, Helgi, for thee
     A bed have I dight,
     Kind without woe,
     O kin of the Ylfings!
     To thy bosom, O king,
     Will I come and sleep soft,
     As I was wont
     When my lord was living.

HELGI: Now will I call Naught not to be hoped for Early or late At Sevafell, When thou in the arms Of a dead man art laid, White maiden of Hogni, Here in the mound: And thou yet quick, O King's daughter!

Now needs must I ride On the reddening ways; My pale horse must tread The highway aloft; West must I go To Windhelm's bridge Ere the war-winning crowd Hall-crower (4) waketh.

So Helgi rode his ways: and the others gat them gone home to the house. But the next night Sigrun bade the bondwoman have heed of the mound. So at nightfall, thenas Sigrun came to the mound, she sang:
     SIGRUN:
     Here now would he come,
     If to come he were minded;
     Sigmund's offspring
     From the halls of Odin.
     O me the hope waneth
     Of Helgi's coming;
     For high on the ash-boughs
     Are the ernes abiding,
     And all folk drift
     Toward the Thing of the dreamland.

BONDMAID: Be not foolish of heart, And fare all alone To the house of the dead, O Hero's daughter! For more strong and dreadful In the night season Are all dead warriors Than in the daylight.

But a little while lived Sigrun, because of her sorrow and trouble. But in old time folk trowed that men should be born again, though their troth be now deemed but an old wife's dotting. And so, as folk say, Helgi and Sigrun were born again, and at that tide was he called Helgi the Scathe of Hadding, and she Kara the daughter of Halfdan; and she was a Valkyrie, even as is said in the Lay of Kara.


ENDNOTES:
(4) Hall-crower, "Salgofnir": lit. Hall-gaper, the cock of Valhall. Back



<< Previous Page       Next Page >>





© 2004-2007 Northvegr.
Most of the material on this site is in the public domain. However, many people have worked very hard to bring these texts to you so if you do use the work, we would appreciate it if you could give credit to both the Northvegr site and to the individuals who worked to bring you these texts. A small number of texts are copyrighted and cannot be used without the author's permission. Any text that is copyrighted will have a clear notation of such on the main index page for that text. Inquiries can be sent to info@northvegr.org. Northvegr™ and the Northvegr symbol are trademarks and service marks of the Northvegr Foundation.

> Northvegr™ Foundation
>> About Northvegr Foundation
>> What's New
>> Contact Info
>> Link to Us
>> E-mail Updates
>> Links
>> Mailing Lists
>> Statement of Purpose
>> Socio-Political Stance
>> Donate

> The Vík - Online Store
>> More Norse Merchandise

> Advertise With Us

> Heithni
>> Books & Articles
>> Trúlög
>> Sögumál
>> Heithinn Date Calculator
>> Recommended Reading
>> The 30 Northern Virtues

> Recommended Heithinn Faith Organizations
>> Alfaleith.org

> NESP
>> Transcribe Texts
>> Translate Texts
>> HTML Coding
>> PDF Construction

> N. European Studies
>> Texts
>> Texts in PDF Format
>> NESP Reviews
>> Germanic Sources
>> Roman Scandinavia
>> Maps

> Language Resources
>> Zoëga Old Icelandic Dict.
>> Cleasby-Vigfusson Dictionary
>> Sweet's Old Icelandic Primer
>> Old Icelandic Grammar
>> Holy Language Lexicon
>> Old English Lexicon
>> Gothic Grammar Project
>> Old English Project
>> Language Resources

> Northern Family
>> Northern Fairy Tales
>> Norse-ery Rhymes
>> Children's Books/Links
>> Tafl
>> Northern Recipes
>> Kubb

> Other Sections
>> The Holy Fylfot
>> Tradition Roots



Search Now:

Host Your Domain on Dreamhost!

Please Visit Our Sponsors




Web site design and coding by Golden Boar Creations